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By JAMES CARD

Published: June 22, 2010

They room together, go to school together and fish together. And Bethel University brought them together as the first students in America to receive an athletic scholarship for competitive bass fishing. This week, these boys of summer will make room on their boat for another team member, Lauren Stamps, the first woman in the United States to receive a scholarship for bass fishing and one of a handful of women to compete on the nearly all-male college circuit.

The growth of collegiate bass-fishing tournaments caught the eye of Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn. There are an estimated 220 college bass-fishing clubs throughout the United States and Canada, according to collegebass.com, an ESPN-partnered Web site. The Bethel administrators decided that a strong bass-fishing team could be a good recruiting tool, so they officially recognized it as a sport, included it in their athletic department’s budget, and hired Garry Mason, a professional hunting and fishing guide, to be their coach. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $4,000 a year.

“We’re looking for a mix of a background in fishing and good academics,” Mason said. “We’re not looking for the Michael Jordan of the fishing world.”

He believes bass fishing is something that can be mastered by spending a lot of time on the water and by learning from more experienced team members.

In the other boat, Coach Garry — as his student-anglers call him — gave Stamps tips on using a bait-casting reel, while Blake Welch, another freshman team member, pointed out splashy riffles on the water’s surface.

“They’re chasing shad,” he said, and his rod slashed through the air like a fencing saber and he dropped the minnowlike lure within inches of the disturbance. “I’ve been fishing ever since the day I could first hold a rod in my hand.”

Mason has eight students in the program and plans to have 12 to 13 in the lineup. Two students from Alabama and another from Iowa are expected to join the team.

“Bethel was really aggressive in expanding their recruiting to attract students, and for some students, the kicker was joining the bass-fishing team,” Mason said.

Students can now make enrollment decisions based on whether a college has a bass-fishing team.

“I would have loved to receive a scholarship for fishing,” Shayne Chelminiak, a student at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, said in an e-mail message. “As a high school athlete, I received scholarships to play college football, but I turned them down to go to a school near home which had a great academic background but also a fishing team where I could drive home in an hour and be able to fish on the weekends.”

Dan Langton, the president of the Murray State bass angler’s club, said: “I like the idea of the college getting involved and funding their team. Schools do not yet realize the enrollment and recruiting possibilities in this sport. I know of about 10 anglers on our team that came to Murray just because of the fishing team. I get calls and e-mails every week from high school students wanting to know more about our team.”

FLW Outdoors, the largest sanctioning organization for sport fishing tournament tours, just finished its second year organizing college-level bass tournaments.

“We have students now deciding on which college to go to based on the school’s bass-fishing club,” said Charlie Evans, president of FLW.

“It was an out-of-the-park home run,” Evans said of the tournament’s popularity. “These college anglers are unbelievably talented for their age.”

To encourage participation, FLW provides boats for the anglers to use, waives entry fees and offers a travel allowance.

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This year, the University of Florida bass fishing team won the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship. The team’s winnings included a new Ranger bass boat, $25,000 for the bass club, and $50,000 to be passed on to its university but to be used as bass anglers see fit. Florida used the money to create a scholarship for students in need of financial assistance.

By winning the national championship, Florida qualified to fish in the Forest Wood Cup, the biggest tournament in competitive bass fishing, in which the winner could take home $1 million. Evans of FLW likens it to a college baseball player having a chance to play in the World Series.

The Illinois High School Athletic Association recognized bass fishing as a sport in 2009 and this year has 225 schools competing in sectional tournaments and state finals. Other states have expressed interest in the sport, and Alabama started a tournament series this year with 20 schools competing.

In theory, a student could fish on a high school team, then compete on a top college bass-fishing team and garner some titles. By graduation time, the angler could have the skill, reputation, and savvy to attract sponsors and turn professional.

It is a path Jake Lawrence and Jacob Hardy have considered more than a few times.

In hourslong conversations, they have discussed the idea while on trips between bass tournaments this spring. They learned how tough the bass fishing circuit can be and they have experienced the cheap hotels, predawn wake-up calls, and fishing in foul weather. In February, they fished in two inches of snow at Lake Guntersville in Alabama, and Hardy slipped and fell overboard into the icy water. He fished the rest of the day in borrowed clothing.

“It’s both a dream of ours,” Hardy said. “We’re hoping that through college bass fishing, we can have a foot in the door for sponsors.”

Lawrence tied on a coffee-scented Rage Tail Thumper, a lure that resembles a baby garter snake jabbed with a large hook, and cast into a creek bed on the bottom of the lake that is invisible to the naked eye but evident with side-scan sonar and depth finders.

“Ever since I learned how to fish, that’s all I ever thought about,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s any better way to do it with this opportunity we’ve been given.”

Fishing versus Boating
By Cheryl Morrison

In the United States alone over 70 million people enjoy boating and 40 million enjoy fishing and both of these pastimes contribute significantly to the economy through millions of jobs, purchases of equipment, state tax revenues and tourism.  Generally, fishing goes hand in hand with boating, but what happens when boating interferes with fishing?

This is what happens when boats are not maintained.  Just last month at Smith Mountain Lake a dilapidated, 50 foot houseboat sank into the waters of Hickory Cove and this wasn’t the first incident.  In the last few years, there has been a rise of boats sinking, creating havoc on the environment and safety of other boats, fishermen and naturalists.

In some reservoirs, it is against the law to run a motor boat for fear of polluting drinking water, so laws help keep these lakes pristine and safe. A clean safe waterway means lots of healthy fish and little toxins when eating fish caught in these waters.  But for many lakes, boats with motors can cause major problems.  Motors on boats can spew gas, oil and other chemicals into the water causing a serious pollution problem.  A relic boat can pose even a more serious problem.  Karl Martin of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said the houseboat that had sunk last month had sunk more than once, when the owner stored it across the main channel from Hickory Cove.  “A lot of aging boats are not being properly maintained.  They’re usually cabin cruisers or houseboats that are sinking, because they are not easily removed for repair.”  Martin also said, that boats left at the docks to disintegrate end up polluting the lake by leaking oil, gas and other substances.  After these sink, they can also pose a problem for other boaters, fishermen, swimmers, jet skis and water skiers by becoming large, unseen underwater obstructions that create navigational hazards, endangering and impeding all others using the waterways.  After last month’s incident, authorities took notice of several other large, old boats needing repairs and because of this, action will now be taken if these boats are not repaired or removed.  The Virginia Department of Fish and Game have decided to serve owners of these dilapidated boats with a hefty fine and even jail time. “We’re strongly enforcing this law.” Martin said.  The offense is considered a special misdemeanor carrying up to a $500 per day fine for each day the boat remains in the water and up to one year in prison for each day the boat is not removed. The owner of the houseboat that sank last month was charged with polluting the waters.

Many times on dilapidated boats the bilge pumps no longer works and that with an accumulation of heavy rain can send an old boat sinking.  Cabin cruisers and houseboats seem to sink more often due to their enormous weight and size, but fiberglass boats without proper maintenance of their gel coat can also sink.  The larger the boat, the more difficult it is to repair.  Runabout boats can be moved easily by a pick-up truck and trailer, but these 40-50 foot crafts need a crane to lift them out of the water to be placed on a flatbed truck.  To make matters worse these big albatrosses can be a nightmare for storage.  All this can become very costly to owners and that is why they avoid repairing them in the first place and eventually over time they sink.

You figure a home that was built in the 1960’s needs repairs, so would a craft built 40 plus years ago, Martin said.  Regular maintenance is important or an owner can be up against mounting fines, jail time and the cost of removing the old relic.

When a boat sinks in the Smith Mountain Lake, the Smith Mountain Lake Marine Volunteer Fire Department is faced with the burden of fuel containment as well as floating the submerged boat.  In more recent years, the fire department has had numerous calls regarding unattended crafts.  These boats leak fuel which leads to fish kills. Currently, two counties have also been depending on Smith Mountain Lake for drinking water with these sinking boats there is a serious possibility of polluting.

Not only do these boats cause pollution and safety issues it also costs a lot of money and time to raise them from the waters.  In a typical case, it usually takes about eight hours and ten people (who take off from their regular jobs) to help pull these relics out of the water.  According to the fire department its estimated budget so far is a whooping $40,000 dollars which the fire department is paying for and many times owners are not contributing to.

In order to raise a large boat, firefighters surround it with hazardous materials boom to contain fuel leaks, divers then are needed to hook straps attached to airbags beneath its hull.  As airbags are filled, the craft floats to the surface.  Another owner of sunken boats had three sink, so far two have been removed and another is in the works of being removed.  The fire department says the problem is no inspection is required for these boats like there is for cars, if there were, there wouldn’t be a problem like this.  Unfortunately, there are many unseaworthy boats on Smith Mountain Lake, but authorities vow to keep this in check, so the waters stay healthy and so does fishing and tourism can thrive.